Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 2672: Temporal Duel 3

Minutes Earlier

Behind the safety of the Elysian barrier, Emery worked desperately to stabilize Morgana and Vayarel. Time was slipping through his fingers, and the chaos outside was growing more dangerous by the second.

Vayarel’s injuries were far worse than they first appeared. Though Talaro’s saber hadn’t pierced his heart, frozen venom coursed through his veins like creeping death, turning muscle and blood into brittle ice. His body shivered uncontrollably, barely clinging to life.

Morgana was in no better condition. Her body was a mess of deep gashes and splintered bones. Her spirit pool had been drained dry. She had nothing left to give.

And yet... she was still awake.

"I can’t rest now... No... I need to stay awake..." she murmured, voice shaking. Her fingers gripped his robe tightly.

Through the soul bond they shared, Emery could feel her fear. Not of death. She was terrified that if she let go, even for a second, Emery might vanish again.

"I’m here," he said softly, pressing his hand to her chest. "I’m here now. I’ll take care of you."

But he had no time.

Beyond the walls, chaos reigned. His two godly beasts—mighty as they were—were still outnumbered. The skeletal serpents swarmed like death incarnate. The blizzard-born domain raged with suffocating power. And now, Kronos had betrayed them.

As Emery poured healing energy into Morgana and Vayarel, his mind worked feverishly. He analyzed the events, and the realization struck him with terrifying clarity—just like Kronos, he too had come to a single conclusion: this was a trial.

Constructed by the mysterious figure who had brought them here.

And the keys? Time and space.

But keys to what?

There was also the fact that the mysterious figure was the one who had sent them into this realm in the first place.

As Emery cradled Morgana’s fragile, battered form, he used the moment of stillness to gently reach into her memories. What he saw left his breath caught in his throat.

He saw the sweat and blood shed by his friends in the Olympus arena, the lives lost, and the sheer desperation leading up to her arrival here.

Emery’s heart trembled. Then, a detail hit him like a strike to the chest.

The timing.

It didn’t match.

His brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of the discrepancy. He had been in this realm for nearly two years already. By that count, the Kronos duel—the one Morgana had fought in—should have taken place almost ten years ago in the outside world.

But Morgana’s memories painted a different story. Her duel, her arrival into this realm—it was all recent for her. As if no time had passed at all.

His breath caught.

Could it be... that they had misunderstood the laws of this place? Was the time dilation not what they assumed?

Or... had the mysterious figure reached through the fabric of reality and plucked Morgana—and Kronos—not from the present, but from the past?

Almost a decade apart.

From different points in the timeline.

Brought together into this pocket dimension, a realm hidden deep within the World Beast’s belly.

The sheer scale of such an act sent chills through Emery. The effort, the power required—he had never known anything, not even Supreme Beings, to possess such a thing. 𝘳𝒶𝐍ÔВĚṣ

And for what purpose?

What did the mysterious figure want?

Before he could dwell further, a shift in the outside battle drew his attention. Kronos had now fully sided with the dark elf. He unleashed his technique, splitting into three phantom versions of himself. Each was free from Talaro’s domain, and together, they launched a coordinated assault on the Elysian walls.

Twik grunted under the pressure. Vines cracked. Roots snapped. The walls trembled.

They wouldn’t hold much longer.

If the barrier failed, Morgana and Vayarel would be exposed—and utterly defenseless.

He needed a solution. Fast.

His hand drifted to his domain. There it was: the tier-8 [Dual Refinement Pill]. A miracle elixir, capable of pushing one’s battle power by over a thousand points.

Vayarel had already consumed one before. Giving him another could do more harm than good. But Morgana had never taken it. For her, it could be a breakthrough.

A tide-turning surge of strength.

But then he hesitated.

No...

He shouldn’t throw her into another battle. Not again. She had fought enough.

Emery opened his domain, ready to keep her safe within.

But before he could act, Morgana did.

Their bond told her everything. Without hesitation, Morgana snatched the pill from his palm and swallowed it whole.

"—!!"

The effect was immediate. Power erupted through her limbs. Her blood surged. Her heart beat like a war drum. Flames ignited across her body in a sudden blaze of rebirth.

Then, something even more unexpected happened.

From deep within the mountains of his domain, a brilliant object surged forth—it was the cosmic flame, the very one he had been safeguarding ever since Kaelyn, the fey priestess, had finished taming it months ago. Emery had never managed to control it himself. But now, the flame moved on its own, shooting out of his opened domain and entering Morgana’s body.

The result was a violent eruption of flame.

Just as the protective Elysian wall cracked apart, Morgana rose into the air, wreathed in a roaring inferno. The intense heat radiating from her was powerful enough to push back Talaro’s freezing domain and force Kronos to retreat.

Morgana’s crimson hair was blazing like molten lava. The comic flame radiated from her in waves, tearing through the frost

But Emery wasn’t relieved—he was filled with dread.

The cosmic flame might have been a match for Morgana’s affinity, but in her current condition, the searing heat could tear her body apart from the inside out. He watched in horror as Morgana screamed in agony, her eyes blazing like twin suns. Her body trembled violently, unable to contain or control the raw, overwhelming power now surging within her.

"Morgana!!!" Emery cried out, desperation rising in his voice.

Emery swiftly sent out his Elysian roots, channeling the power of nature in a desperate attempt to keep Morgana from burning alive. His mind raced, scrambling for a solution.

Acting on instinct, he extended another root toward the half-conscious Vayarel, redirecting some of Morgana’s searing heat into his frozen body—flame against frost, a gamble born of desperation.

His Dao of Heaven and Earth flared. Steam hissed violently as heat met ice across both Vayarel’s and Morgana’s bodies.

"It’s working!" Emery gasped.

But the process was too slow. They were still on the brink—and neither Talaro nor Kronos would stand by and let them recover.

"Kill them!!" shouted the dark elf.

Kronos charged forward, a streak of silver vengeance.

"Damn it!!" Emery cursed.

Neither he nor his dark self was in a position to intercept.

Only one was close enough.

"Kuang... Kuang..."

Twik, the plant creature, turned to Emery—just once. A single glance, filled with resolve and loyalty.

"No—Twik!! Wait!"

Twik leapt forward. All the roots in his body extended at once, growing wildly. He hurled himself into the fray, using every tendril and fiber of his being to form a living shield—blocking the deadly attack while resisting the scorching flames behind.

"Kuang!! Kuang!!"

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